Thought I would write some more about laughter and the brain - to augment my previous column - for all you brainiacs out there. (Okay, I admit it, I've been obsessed with the brain for years...)
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine found that the brains of introverts respond differently to humour than do the brains of extroverts. (Personally, though, I 'm not sure what my own brain does with humour because, after allowing myself to be tested a few times, I consistently sit on the fence between the two personality types as I'm sure some of you do, as well.)
Research led by neuroscientist, Alllan L. Reiss at Stanford U., indicates that in extroverted individuals, the prefrontal cortex and nearby orbitofrontal cortex "light up preferentially when a person reacts to funny cartoons."* In introverts, the amygdala and the front portion of the temporal lobe become active. This research suggests that these brain structures mediate the rewarding feelings people experience when they respond to humour and that pleasurable emotions originate from different brain sites depending on personality type.
Related to our ability to appreciate humour is how cheerful we tend to be on a day to day basis. The more cheerful we tend to be, the more easily we are amused and the more readily we laugh. One benefit of a cheerful personality is resilience: a psychic robustness that emotionally buffers an individual against crises such as the dissolution of a marriage, or the loss of a job. This type of person tends to survive setbacks well, preferring to see the silver lining in major disappointments rather than doom and gloom.
And, a sense of humour strengthens the psyche, according to Willibald Ruch of the University of Zurich.** In one test, students at the University were tested to determine whether they were generally cheerful, or generally somber. They then had to spend time in three different environments doing rote jobs such as filling out questionnaires and drawing pictures. The first environment was a sunny room with large windows, yellow walls, funny posters and colourful drapes. The second was a dark room painted black and lit only by a small lamp, while the third room connoted seriousness with its display of scientific equipment, books, manuals and presentation posters. It turned out that the ambience of the rooms had a more profound effect upon those students who rated low on general cheerfulness: their moods became worse after spending time in the 'dark' room and also became worse after spending time in the 'serious' room. The mood of the generally more cheerful students was not affected by environment.
One question I've had on occasion is: why is it that some people appreciate the loud and boisterous laughter of another and are actually stimulated to laugh even more because of it, whereas others are irritated by this display of laughter? Is there a laughter etiquette that is not being followed by those that freely and exuberantly laugh, chortle and guffaw? Why do others find this offensive? I, for one, love it and tend to laugh more as a result of this type of free flowing laughter.
I've also noticed that when I once tried laughter yoga, all I got was a headache from the forced nature of it all, but laughing naturally at, say, a comedic movie or schtick of some sort feels so darn good. Well, the other day I came across research that indicates that forced laughter does not produce the same 'feel good' chemicals that are produced when one is laughing more naturally, and that any positive benefits one feels during laughter yoga may simply be due to the social nature of the group activity.
Another study I came across recently indicates that forcing our mouths into a smile before viewing funny cartoons produces more activity in the pleasure centres of the brain than does forcing our mouths into a disappointed expression or frown. (Volunteers were to hold a pen either with their teeth - thereby creating an artificial smile - or with their lips, thereby producing a frown. Those forced to exercise their smile muscles reacted more exuberantly to the cartoons than did those whose mouths were contracted into a frown.) And, from other studies I've read, it seems that just 'putting on a happy face' (smiling) when you are feeling down can trick your brain into thinking you feel happy and improvement in mood then follows. I've actually tried this particular tactic myself a few times and it does seem to work.
D.
* and **(Scientific American Mind, April/May/June 2009, pp. 28 - 29).
